Utility Pouch Having a Self-Sealing Closure

Abstract

In one embodiment, a pouch includes a body that defines an interior space of the pouch in which items can be stored, an opening that provides access to the interior space, and a self-sealing closure associated with the opening that prevents that items from failing out of the pouch, the closure being adapted to enable a user to pass a hand through the closure and into the interior space and to automatically seal after the user withdraws the hand.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/428,140, filed Dec. 29, 2010, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Workers, such as construction workers, scaffold workers, iron workers, and maintenance workers often must carry small items with them as they perform their duties. For example, such workers may carry fastening elements such as nails, screws, bolts, and nuts. For convenience, such items are normally carried in a utility pouch that is attached to a belt or harness that is worn by the worker.

In some situations, the items carried by the worker may fall out of the pouch. For instance, if the worker is a scaffold worker, items may fall out of the pouch when the worker climbs about on the scaffolding. In addition to the inconvenience of losing the items carried within the pouch, items that fall out from the pouch can injury other workers on the site.

Because of the inconvenience and danger associated with items falling out of a worker's pouch, some pouches have closures that seal the pouch and therefore ensure that the items remain in the pouch when not needed by the worker. For example, some pouches have zipper closures or hook-and-loop closures. Unfortunately, such closures are inconvenient for the worker. First, it is time consuming to have to open and reseal the closure every time items are removed from the pouch. Second, it can be difficult to open or reseal the closure when wearing work gloves, which are often required on work sites.

From the above discussion, it can be appreciated that it would be desirable to have a utility pouch that prevents items from falling out of the pouch but that enables easy access to the items by the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following figures. Matching reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of a utility pouch.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pouch of FIG. 1 that shows a self-sealing closure of the pouch.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the pouch of FIG. 1 illustrating the self-sealing closure in a closed orientation.

FIG. 4 is a further side cross-sectional view of the pouch of FIG. 1 illustrating the self-sealing closure in an open orientation.

FIG. 5 is a further side cross-sectional view of the pouch of FIG. 1 illustrating the self-sealing closure in closed orientation with the pouch in an upside-down orientation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As described above, it would be desirable to have a utility pouch that prevents items from falling out of the pouch but that enables easy access to the items by the user. Disclosed herein are utility pouches that have a self-sealing closure that prevents items within the pouch from escaping but enables a user to quickly and easily access the interior of the pouch to either remove items from or insert items into the pouch. In some embodiments the self-sealing closure comprises a resilient member having a closed bottom end that seals the pouch but which can be opened when a user simply passes his or her hand through the closure.

In the following disclosure, various embodiments are described. It is to be understood that those embodiments are example implementations of the disclosed inventions and that alternative embodiments are possible. All such embodiments are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a utility pouch 10 having a self-sealing closure. The pouch 10 can be used to hold substantially any item that can fit within the pouch. The pouch 10 can be particularly useful to workers, such as construction workers, scaffold workers, iron workers, maintenance workers, and the like who often carry small items, such as fastening elements such as nails, screws, bolts, and nuts. However, the worker application is just one application in which the pouch 10 can be used. As a further example of use, the pouch 10 can be used by sportsmen to carry items such as shotgun shells. Regardless, the scope of this disclosure is not intended to be limited to any particular use of the pouch 10.

As is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pouch 10 comprises a body 12 that generally defines and exterior, and interior, of the pouch. The body 12 can be made of any suitable material. Example materials include fabric (e.g., canvass) materials that are formed of natural and/or polymeric fibers, and non-porous plastic sheet materials. In some embodiments, the body 12 is made of a CORDURA® fabric. In some embodiments, the body 12 is comprised of multiple panels that are joined together along one or more seams 16. In the illustrated embodiment, three such panels 14 are joined by two seams 16, which are formed using a suitable seam forming method, such as stitching or bonding.

At a top end 18 of the body 12 of the pouch 10 is an opening 20 that leads to the interior of the pouch. As is shown in FIG. 2, the opening 20 can have a natural, open configuration, which enables the user to easily access the interior of the pouch 10. In some embodiments, the opening 20 can form a generally circular or elliptical opening, as is illustrated in FIG. 2. Also provided at the top end 18 of the body 12 is a clip element 21 that can be used to secure the pouch 10 to the user. The clip element can be made of a conductive or non-conductive material (e.g., plastic or metal) and can take the form of a carabiner, trigger snap, or any other clasping device. With further reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, provided within the opening 20 of the pouch 10 is a self-sealing closure 22 (closure shown with hidden lines in FIG. 1).

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate the opening 20 and the self-sealing closure 22, as well as operation of the opening and the self-sealing closure, in greater detail. Beginning with FIG. 3, the opening 20 includes a structural member 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the structural member 24 is a cylindrical cord, such as a length of rope, that encircles the opening 20 at the top end 18 of the body 12. In some embodiments, the structural member 24 is encapsulated within an annular space that is formed by folding the body material over itself and sewing or bonding the material together. Irrespective of its construction, the structural member 24 provides structural integrity to the opening 20 and maintains the open configuration depicted in FIG. 2.

The self-sealing closure 22 comprises a resilient member that prevents items from falling out of the pouch 10 but that enables a user's hand to pass into the pouch. In the illustrated embodiment, the self-sealing closure 22 comprises two opposed pieces of resilient material that together seal the interior space 26 of the pouch 10. As is evident from FIG. 3, the self-sealing closure 22 forms a generally V-shaped cross-section. In some embodiments, the V-shaped cross-section is formed by a first or front piece 28 of generally flat resilient material and a second or rear piece 30 of generally flat resilient material. The resilient material used to construct the pieces 28, 30 can comprise any material that can (i) form the naturally closed orientation shown in FIG. 3, (ii) yield and separate when a user's hand is passed through the closure 22 as shown in FIG. 4, and (iii) automatically close and resume the naturally closed orientation shown in FIG. 3 after the user's hand has been withdrawn. In some embodiments, the resilient material comprises a rubber or polymeric material. By way of example, the resilient material comprises neoprene material having a thickness of approximately 1/16 to ½ inch (in).

With further reference to FIG. 3, the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material each comprise a top edge 32 and a bottom edge 34. In some embodiments, the top edges 32 are arcuate and the bottom edges 34 are straight (see FIG. 1). The top edges 32 together form a first or top end of the closure 22 and the bottom edges 34 together form a second or bottom end of the closure. With reference to FIG. 1, the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material further comprise side edges 36. In some embodiments, the side edges 36 of each piece 28, 30 of resilient material are angled inward from the top edge 32 to the bottom edge 34. Regardless of their specific shape, however, the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material are secured within the opening 20 of the pouch 10 such that their top edges 32 are separated and their bottom edges 34 contact each other in their natural state, as is depicted in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, the separation of the top edges 32 is maintained by the presence of the structural member 24, which also maintains the opening 20 in its open orientation, and the contact between the bottom edges 34 is maintained by the attachment of the side edges 36 of the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material to the body 12.

In use, the self-sealing closure 22 is normally in the closed orientation shown in FIG. 3 with the bottom edges 34 of the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material contacting each other to seal the pouch 10. Because a seal is formed by the closure 22, items within the pouch 10 will not fall out of the pouch, even when the pouch is turned upside-down, as illustrated in FIG. 5. However, because the upper edges of the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material are separated, a user can easily pass his or her hand between the pieces. Because the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material are flexible, the user can further separate the bottom edges 34 of the pieces and pass his or her hand through the closure 22 to access the items within the pouch, as is depicted in FIG. 4. Because the pieces 28, 30 of resilient material are resilient, and therefore naturally return to their initial, undisrupted state, the bottom edges 34 of the pieces will close (see FIG. 3) after the user withdraws his or her hand to automatically reseal the pouch 10 so as to prevent the items it contains from accidentally falling out. Because of the above-described functionality, the user can quickly and easily access items stored within the pouch 10 without the need to unzip a zipper or tear apart a hook-and-loop fastener. Moreover, the user does not need to manually reseal the closure after he or she has withdrawn items from the pouch.

Many variations of the embodiments described above are possible. In one such variation, the self-sealing closure can be formed from a single piece of resilient material that is molded to provide the general structure and functionality described above. Furthermore, although pouches have been specifically described, it is noted that a self-sealing closure of the type disclosed herein can be used with other types of containers, such as a bucket.

Claims

1. A utility pouch comprising:

a body that defines an interior space of the pouch in which items can be stored;

an opening that provides access to the interior space; and

a self-sealing closure associated with the opening that prevents the items from falling out of the pouch, the closure being adapted to enable a user to pass a hand through the closure and into the interior space and to automatically seal after the user withdraws the hand.

2. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the body is made of a fabric material.

3. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the body is made of polymeric sheet material.

4. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the opening includes a structural member that maintains the opening in an open orientation.

5. The pouch of claim 4, wherein the structural member comprises a cylindrical cord.

6. The pouch of claim 5, wherein the cylindrical cord comprises a length of rope.

7. The pouch of claim 1, wherein the self-sealing closure comprises a resilient member.

8. The pouch of claim 7, wherein the resilient member is made of a neoprene material.

9. The pouch of claim 7, wherein the resilient member comprises an open end and a closed end, wherein the closed end opens when the user's hand is passed through the closed end and recloses when the user's hand is withdrawn.

10. The pouch of claim 9, wherein the resilient member comprises two opposed pieces of resilient material, each piece comprising a top edge and a bottom edge, the top edges forming the open end and the bottom edges forming the closed end, wherein the bottom edges contact each other in a natural, closed orientation of the closure.

11. The pouch of claim 10, wherein the pieces of resilient material are pieces of neoprene material.

12. A utility pouch comprising:

a body that defines an interior space of the pouch in which items can be stored;

an opening that provides access to the interior space; and

a self-sealing closure associated with the opening, the closure comprising two opposed pieces of resilient material, each piece comprising a first edge and a second edge, the first edges forming an open end of the closure and the second edges forming a closed end of the closure, wherein the second edges contact each other in a natural, closed orientation of the closure to seal the pouch and wherein the second edges separate when a hand is passed between them and automatically close to contact each other again after the hand is withdrawn.

13. The pouch of claim 12, wherein the body is made of a fabric material.

14. The pouch of claim 12, wherein the body is made of polymeric sheet material.

15. The pouch of claim 12, wherein the opening includes a structural member that maintains the opening and the open end of the self-sealing closure in an open orientation.

16. The pouch of claim 15, wherein the structural member comprises a cylindrical cord.

17. The pouch of claim 12, wherein the pieces of resilient material are pieces of neoprene material.

18. The pouch of claim 12, wherein the first edges are top edges of the pieces of resilient material and the second edges are bottom edges of the pieces of resilient material.

19. A self-sealing closure for use with a container comprising:

two opposed pieces of resilient material, each piece comprising a first edge and an opposed second edge, the first edges forming a open end of the closure and the second edges forming a closed end of the closure, wherein the second edges contact each other in a natural, closed orientation of the closure and wherein the second edges open when an object is passed through the second edges of the closed end and automatically close when the object is withdrawn.

20. The closure of claim 19, wherein the pieces of resilient material are flat pieces of neoprene material.